Pembroke Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion Charges

BOSTON – A Pembroke, Mass., man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to tax charges related to his failure to pay taxes on more than $1.1 million he earned as a carpenter from 1998 through 2006.

Theodore Hammond, Jr., 61, pleaded guilty to two counts of tax evasion and seven counts of filing false tax returns.  U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for Oct. 21, 2015.

Hammond was a self-employed carpenter for many years and, between 1998 and 2006, earned $1.1 million.  During that same period, Hammond failed to timely file federal income tax returns and, when he did file, he reported zero income.  As a result, Hammond owes taxes of $406,458, not including interest and penalties.  

The charge of tax evasion provides a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.  The charge of filing false tax returns provides a sentence of no greater than three years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; and Robert E. O’Malley, Special Agent in Charge of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, New York Field Division, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sandra S. Bower of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit and Christine Wichers of Ortiz’s Civil Division.